The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.
It is well known that a cable is a linear, flexible member used to contain wiring, hoist loads, anchor objects, and fasten multiple items. For electrical purposes, cables are provided with a metallic wiring capable of conducting an electric current. Wiring may be formed by a single wire or may include two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted, or braided together to form a single assembly. Cables often include a protective polymer sheath that protects the wiring from moisture and physical contact with exterior surfaces.
Often, the wires in a cable corrode. Corrosion degrades the useful properties of the cable and wires, including strength, appearance and permeability to liquids and gases. For underground wiring, corrosion is the gradual destruction of metals by chemical reaction with the environment. In an underground bore, the environments that cause corrosion may include gases, water, acids that contact wiring to create an electrochemical oxidation with the wires in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen. Wiring is often comprised of a copper material. Copper resists corrosion from moisture, humidity, industrial pollution, and other atmospheric influences.
Electrical cables are used in a countless number of applications. In many instances, electrical cables are arranged below ground level, concealed from the human eye and protected from weather hazards. For instance, airport runway lighting systems, consisting of a series of light bars or strobe lights that extend along both sides of the runway, generally provide electricity and/or electric signals to the lamps by underground cables. The underground environment is potentially corrosive for the cables. Because of this, frequent maintenance and replacement of the cables must be carried out in order to guarantee that cables, and thus the runway lighting system, work in optimal conditions.
Normally, runway lamps are installed over a bore on the ground through which cables extend from the lamp towards the underground environment. Electrical wiring maintenance or installation is usually carried out by removing the runway lamp and allowing the cable to slide through the bore and into the underground environment or by pulling the wire out of the underground environment. When sliding in or out of the bore, cables are prone to deteriorate due to friction against the bore edges, thus shortening cable lifetime undesirably and increasing the number of cable maintenance and replacement operations. Frequent operations on the runway lighting system can adversely impact an airport's runway traffic and lead to important economic loss. In addition, premature deterioration of airport runway lighting cables may result in nonoperational lighting along the runway and in a serious safety hazard.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a cable distribution system that controllably and easily guides a cable through a bore, while restricting contact between the wiring and the bore edges, for optimizing cable installation and removal from airport lighting systems or other applicable lighting systems.